Criminal justice reporter

The state Supreme Court has upheld the Athens-Clarke noise ordinance, finding that the law didn’t violate the rights of a former University of Georgia student who challenged its constitutionality.

After then-student Ian Grady was cited and fined $350 for a loud party at his apartment downtown two years ago, he complained the ordinance infringed on his right to free speech.

Attorney Chuck Jones also argued the noise ordinance is unconstitutional because it isn’t the least-restrictive means of accomplishing the government’s goal of protecting citizens’ rights to peace and quiet.

The ordinance’s stated purpose is to “reduce excessive community noises, which are harmful and otherwise detrimental to individuals and to the community.” It bars noise that can be heard across property lines or 100 feet away from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and midnight to 7 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Even though music is a form of speech, the noise ordinance just restricts how loud it’s played at specified times of day, not the music’s content, said Justice David Nahmias, who wrote the decision released by the high court Monday morning.

“The ordinance does not ... discriminate based on the content of the speech,” said Nahmias in the court’s unanimous, 7-0 decision.

“Noises and sounds that are plainly audible at the requisite distances and during the stated times are prohibited, whatever their subject matter or point of view,” Nahmias said.

The noise ordinance is “a reasonable, content-neutral time, place and manner speech regulation, and Grady’s facial challenge to it is without merit,” Nahmias wrote.

The case began early the morning of April 18, 2009, as Grady held a party at his apartment on East Clayton Street to celebrate his admission to law school.

Although no one called police to complain, a police officer who was in the area and heard the loud party issued the citation, according to court filings.

“This was unusual, the officer later testified, because downtown Athens is usually a ‘ghost town’ at 3:30” in the morning, Nahmias wrote in the unanimous decision.

In addition to constitutional grounds, Grady argued he should not have been issued a citation because police hadn’t received citizen complaints about the noise.

“Grady does not explain why police officers who hear excessive noise — like the officer in this case — could not qualify as citizen complainants,” Nahmias wrote.

The county has had a noise ordinance for nearly a century, and it’s adapted to the changing needs of the community, according to Athens-Clarke County Attorney Bill Berryman.

“We provided documentation going back to 1918 that demonstrated an approach to noise regulation that reflects community values, adapts to changes in the law and respects the rights of individuals,” Berryman said.

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